Break Away
by AwesomeKid and MidnightWriter
Summary: Rachel sees Puck with Quinn and decides she has to break it off with him. Lyrics are "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked.


"I knew it." Rachel said flatly. Puck broke away from Quinn and looked at his girlfriend, unable to speak. "I knew it was too good to be true. Thank you, Noah, for making me realize this now." She nodded to Quinn, as if to silently say, "Thank you too, but I don't blame you." She turned on her heel, skirt fanning out around her, and walked away from the closet, leaving the janitor's closet door to slam behind him. Trying to block out thoughts of Puck and the pregnant former cheerleader together, she headed to the auditorium. Walking over to the piano, she played a single note on the piano, playing her starting pitch. The only way to get through this was with music. She sang a capella her favorite song from Wicked, which seemed oddly appropriate now.

_Hands touch_

_Eyes meet_

_Sudden silence, sudden heat_

_Hearts leap in a giddy whirl_

_He could be that boy…_

_But I'm not that girl_

She heard a door open and close, but it didn't matter anymore. This was for her, and she didn't care who heard.

_Don't dream_

_Too far_

_Don't lose sight of who you are_

_Don't remember that rush of joy_

_He could be that boy…_

_But I'm not that girl_

She tried desperately to do as the words advised her, to forget about how happy Noah made her, and to remember who she was. She was Rachel Barbara Berry. She was going to be on Broadway. She was going to be a star. And nobody, not Quinn, not Puck, not Finn, not that questionably parented baby, could ruin it for her.

_Every so often, we long to steal_

_To the land of what might have been_

_But that doesn't soften the ache that we feel_

_When reality sets back in…_

She breathed deeply and counted in her head the beats as the accompaniment should have been going by. She knew the instrumental by heart. It was something unchanging, something constant, that she could take comfort in. Change was good sometimes, but constant was better. Less to deal with, less to worry about.

_Blithe smile_

_Lithe limb_

_She who's winsome, she wins him_

_Golden hair with a gentle curl_

_That's the girl he chose_

_And heaven knows…_

_I'm not that girl_

Wow, these lyrics _were_ oddly appropriate. This verse fit Quinn to a T. Or a Q, she supposed. Blithe smile, check. Lithe, well, she used to be until she got pregnant. Winsome, check. Curly golden hair, double check. And he'd chosen her now, not Rachel. _Check_, she thought forlornly.

_Don't wish_

_Don't start_

_Wishing only wounds the heart_

_I wasn't born for the rose and pearl_

_There's a girl I know_

_He loves her so…_

She took a dramatic pause here, knowing her money note was coming. Not because her breath was catching and tears threatened to fall. That wasn't it at all.

_I'm not that girl_

Holding the last note out, she tried to keep her voice from wavering, and as she cut off, one tear hit the hard surface of the stage. As she turned to leave the auditorium through the backstage doors, she heard applause.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she saw Noah and Finn, one on either side of the auditorium. She wiped the tears from her eyes before they could fall and asked, half-yelling, "What do you want from me? Both of you!"

Finn, previously oblivious to Rachel's distress, ran up the stairs to the stage. "Rachel, are you OK?" He came toward her with arms outstretched, obviously headed for a hug. But Rachel didn't want a hug. Finn had hurt her, but she was hurting him more than ever by knowing about the baby.

Puck, on the other hand, sauntered slowly up the opposite stairs, hoping Finn would distract Berry long enough to let him come up behind her, but as she turned away from Finn to snub his hug, she saw him. "Berry…" he began, but she turned away from him too. She walked right past both of them, out the double doors backstage stage right. She was breaking out, breaking away, from this school and these stupid boys who had so terribly hurt her and caused her to so terribly hurt them. She wished they would dissipate into thin air… but then again, she didn't. She didn't know what she wanted.

So it was time to break away from them. She needed time, to clear her head, to allow her thoughts to be unclouded by the feelings she had for both boys. _If that's what it takes to make it through this so I can get to the top, then I'll do it. _She hummed Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" as she walked to her little red Neon and started to clear her head.

A/N: Yeah, a lil' angsty, I know. But was it good? Too weird? Forcing the theme too much? Leave me reviews and let me know! (By the way, just for reference this is sorta AU, set between when Rachel finds out about the baby's parentage and when Finn finds out.) **ALSO: This is important!!!! **I'm taking a reader poll: what pairing would you like me write one-shot #7 (entitled "Heaven") about? It can be Glee, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, JONAS, iCarly, Sonny with a Chance, Gallagher Girls, or NCIS. Let me know in a review!! :D


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